Using ecosystem experiments to improve vegetation models

Belinda E. Medlyn; Sönke Zaehle; Martin G. De Kauwe; Anthony P. Walker; Michael C. Dietze; Paul J. Hanson; Thomas Hickler; Atul K. Jain; Yiqi Luo; William Parton; I. Colin Prentice; Peter E. Thornton; Shusen Wang; Ying Ping Wang; Ensheng Weng; Colleen M. Iversen; Heather R. Mccarthy; Jeffrey M. Warren; Ram Oren; Richard J. Norby

doi:10.1038/nclimate2621

Using ecosystem experiments to improve vegetation models

Belinda E. Medlyn, Sönke Zaehle, Martin G. De Kauwe, Anthony P. Walker, Michael C. Dietze, Paul J. Hanson, Thomas Hickler, Atul K. Jain, Yiqi Luo, William Parton, I. Colin Prentice, Peter E. Thornton, Shusen Wang, Ying Ping Wang, Ensheng Weng, Colleen M. Iversen, Heather R. Mccarthy, Jeffrey M. Warren, Ram Oren, Richard J. Norby

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

253 Scopus citations

Abstract

Ecosystem responses to rising CO 2 concentrations are a major source of uncertainty in climate change projections. Data from ecosystem-scale Free-Air CO 2 Enrichment (FACE) experiments provide a unique opportunity to reduce this uncertainty. The recent FACE Model-Data Synthesis project aimed to use the information gathered in two forest FACE experiments to assess and improve land ecosystem models. A new 'assumption-centred' model intercomparison approach was used, in which participating models were evaluated against experimental data based on the ways in which they represent key ecological processes. By identifying and evaluating the main assumptions causing differences among models, the assumption-centred approach produced a clear roadmap for reducing model uncertainty. Here, we explain this approach and summarize the resulting research agenda. We encourage the application of this approach in other model intercomparison projects to fundamentally improve predictive understanding of the Earth system.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	528-534
Number of pages	7
Journal	Nature Climate Change
Volume	5
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2621
State	Published - Jun 26 2015

Funding

The ORNL and Duke FACE sites and synthesis activities were supported by the US Department of Energy Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research programme. This work was initiated under the Benchmarking Ecosystem Response Models with Experimental Data from Long-Term CO2Enrichment Experiments Working Group supported by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, a centre financially supported by the National Science Foundation (grant EF-0553768), the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the state of California. M.D.K. was also supported by ARC discovery grant DP1094791. S.Z. was also supported by the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme FP7 people programme through grants PERG02-GA-2007-224775 and 238366. T.H. was also supported through the LOEWE initiative for scientific and economic excellence of the German federal state of Hesse. This work is a contribution to the AXA Chair Programme in Biosphere and Climate Impacts and the Grand Challenges in Ecosystems and the Environment initiative at Imperial College. A.K.J. was also supported by the NSF (NSF AGS 12-43071), the US Department of Energy (DOE DE-SC0006706) and NASA LCLUC programme (NASA NNX14AD94G).

Funders	Funder number
Biological and Environmental Research programme
US Department of Energy
US Department of Energy Office of Science
National Science Foundation	AGS 12-43071, EF-0553768
U.S. Department of Energy	DE-SC0006706
National Aeronautics and Space Administration	NNX14AD94G
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
University of California, Santa Barbara
Australian Research Council	DP1094791
Seventh Framework Programme	238366, PERG02-GA-2007-224775

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1038/nclimate2621

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Medlyn, B. E., Zaehle, S., De Kauwe, M. G., Walker, A. P., Dietze, M. C., Hanson, P. J., Hickler, T., Jain, A. K., Luo, Y., Parton, W., Prentice, I. C., Thornton, P. E., Wang, S., Wang, Y. P., Weng, E., Iversen, C. M., Mccarthy, H. R., Warren, J. M., Oren, R., & Norby, R. J. (2015). Using ecosystem experiments to improve vegetation models. Nature Climate Change, 5(6), 528-534. https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2621

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abstract = "Ecosystem responses to rising CO 2 concentrations are a major source of uncertainty in climate change projections. Data from ecosystem-scale Free-Air CO 2 Enrichment (FACE) experiments provide a unique opportunity to reduce this uncertainty. The recent FACE Model-Data Synthesis project aimed to use the information gathered in two forest FACE experiments to assess and improve land ecosystem models. A new 'assumption-centred' model intercomparison approach was used, in which participating models were evaluated against experimental data based on the ways in which they represent key ecological processes. By identifying and evaluating the main assumptions causing differences among models, the assumption-centred approach produced a clear roadmap for reducing model uncertainty. Here, we explain this approach and summarize the resulting research agenda. We encourage the application of this approach in other model intercomparison projects to fundamentally improve predictive understanding of the Earth system.",

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Medlyn, BE, Zaehle, S, De Kauwe, MG, Walker, AP, Dietze, MC, Hanson, PJ, Hickler, T, Jain, AK, Luo, Y, Parton, W, Prentice, IC, Thornton, PE, Wang, S, Wang, YP, Weng, E, Iversen, CM, Mccarthy, HR, Warren, JM, Oren, R & Norby, RJ 2015, 'Using ecosystem experiments to improve vegetation models', Nature Climate Change, vol. 5, no. 6, pp. 528-534. https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2621

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AU - Thornton, Peter E.

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AU - Weng, Ensheng

AU - Iversen, Colleen M.

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Using ecosystem experiments to improve vegetation models

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

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